MATER DEI’S HOMESTAY MESSAGE BOARD The Mater Dei Homestay Message Board is a convenient, secure way for MD families to connect and coordinate events for their host students. This service is exclusive to current Mater Dei host families. Accounts/users that do not comply with the standards and rules of Mater Dei High School will be disabled. See instructions below for how to create your account and use this tool. It is recommended that you print this sheet and use as a reference as you learn to navigate the Homestay Message Board. Note: the process to create, confirm and approve your account on the carpool bulletin board can take 24-48 hours. This is so we can ascertain that ONLY current MD host families use this service and the area remains secure. How to Create, Confirm and Verify Your Account 1. Visit www.materdei.org/hometsay. Click on the “Mater Dei Homestay Message Board” button on the left hand links column. 2. You will need to provide a password to enter the forum. Please refer to the e-mail I sent you for the forum password. This password is to ensure the security of the forum and the contents you discuss. 3. Once you land on the Homestay Message Board page, click on “register.” (See screen shot below.) Enter your desired user name and password as well as your email address. The username MUST be in alphanumeric characters. Please use the email address you used to register with Mater Dei High School. You will also be required to enter your full name (should be the parent’s full name). 4. After you have created your account, you will receive an activation email. A valid email address is required to confirm your account. Follow the link in your email to confirm your account. Your account will then have “pending approval status.” See screen shot below. While your account is in pending status, you will not be able to access the Homestay Message Board. During this time your information will be verified by Mater Dei High School (by your name, and email address. This process can take 24-48 hours depending on the volume of requests. 5. You will receive an email from Mater Dei notifying you that your account has been approved and you may begin using the message board. Visit www.materdei.org/homestay and enter your username and password in the required fields to login. How to Use the Mater Dei Homestay Message Board 1. Once you have logged into the system, you will see the FORUMS screen. This is where you will be able to see and/or post to the forms on different topics. 2. Click on the forum that you wish to view and/or post to i.e. Holiday Plans. If there are topics/discussions in that forum, they will appear on your screen. If not, you might be the first user to that area and it’s time to post a topic. 3. To post a topic/begin a discussion, click on NEW TOPIC (right). New topic will bring you right to the new topic screen. 4. Once in the new topic screen, create a subject for your post i.e. Winter Break Plans. Then type your message. When you finish, you have the option to “subscribe to this thread.” This will give you the option to receive email notifications if/when there are replies to your message(s). See open text box in the screen shot below for more information. 5. To reply to a post/thread, open a post by clicking on the message subject. Then click on the reply option in the upper right and corner: Type in your response and then click post message. Your reply is then visible in the thread: 6. As you complete the year and no longer need the bulletin board, you can unsubscribe from a thread within a forum. It is not recommended that you delete your account as you will have to go through the registration/verification process again.